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The comprehensive index of every blog post, magazine story and restaurant review that appears on Torontolife.com
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These days, the arrival of a new indie café on Queen West or in Leslieville is about as novel as a Gap opening in a mall, which is why we’re pleased to inform readers that the newest coffee houses in town aren’t located in hipster hubs. Since our last café census in March, we count a total of 13 new spots for Hogtown’s java lovers.
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Breakfast is served at Around the Corner (Image: Signe Langford)
New Toronto—that little pocket of post-war bungalows at Islington and Lakeshore—is teetering on the brink of gentrification. Just off the tired, time-worn main strip, new residents are tearing down the dinky houses to build dream homes by the water. Stepping in to feed these folks is Mark Ali, the enterprising foodie-locavore who has owned and operated The Village Butcher for the past three years. At his new café, Around the Corner, Ali shifts his devotion to all things fresh and local to the world of gluten-free eating.
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A bunch of garlic scapes (Image: Joe Shlabotnik)
For the past few weeks, garlic scapes have been cropping up on menus throughout the city. An early summer treat, these shoots are the sweeter, mellower off-growth of the more pungent bulbs that come later in the season (cutting them from young plants helps the bulbs grow plumper). But as they are delectable in their own right, scapes have lately found a following from locavore chefs. Below, five ways of the best ways to enjoy scapes in Toronto right now.
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So you didn’t listen when everyone told you to book a rental back in January, and you haven’t yet managed to finagle an invite from cottage-owning friends. We offer hope: an insider’s guide to vacationing in cottage country—where to stay, what not to miss, and how to find urban luxuries in the boonies
The east end’s main thoroughfare has long been known for two things: Greek food and the Taste of the Danforth. Over the past many years, though, homebuyers drawn to the subway line have slowly turned the long strip of two-storey brick buildings into a bustling neighbourhood that has attracted a rich selection of fine shops, independent coffee houses, Thai joints and haute cuisine restaurants. The Danforth has reached a wonderful maturity that we think should be celebrated. Here are 21 of the best reasons to cross the viaduct.
The famed chef gives a maligned weed some locavore love
(Image: Edward Pond)
Stinging nettle is one of the first plants to emerge from the detritus of winter, and as anyone who has been stung by it knows, it’s a nasty weed. But Jamie Kennedy, the city’s top locavore chef, isn’t put off by a few prickles. He forages for it near his home in Prince Edward County and is boldly putting it on the menu at Gilead Bistro this month as a complement to yellow perch. Once cooked, nettles taste like spring: fresh, vital and green. For newbie foragers, Kennedy offers this advice: wear gloves, try High Park, but stay away from the dog park. If all else fails, lemony-tasting fresh sorrel (available at most grocers) is a good substitute. Read the rest of this entry »
Five off-the-radar summer destinations where you can eat, drink, fish, farm, bike or meditate to your heart’s content
A taxing situation hits Ontario wine sales (Image: Derek Purdy)
In its far-reaching attempts to promote fully local Ontario wine, as opposed to partially local blended plonk, the provincial government has left no stone unturned: an aggressive pro-VQA marketing campaign to clear up the confusing “Cellared in Canada” labels, and now, contradictory logic. A new tax on blended wine that will go into effect on July 1, equating roughly 62 cents on an $8 bottle, is intended to nudge customers into buying more expensive wines, like VQA selections, which cost around $14 a bottle. In other words, the government is hoping that the stinginess of wine customers will motivate them to buy pricier wine.
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This time last year, the future looked awfully grim. We braced for restaurant closures and recessionary menus, but 2009 was surprising. Though we lost some good places (Perigee, Truffles, Alice’s and Gamelle, in particular), and mac-and-cheese quickly wore out its welcome, it was an exciting time to dine out. Anxious restaurateurs dropped corkage fees and slashed wine markups, while chefs cooked up imaginative prix fixe menus. It suited our mood as well as our wallets: these days, Torontonians want informality. We’re still hungry for local produce and nose-to-tail dining, chefs are once again finding inspiration in Italy and Japan, and the city is finally beginning to develop a serious cocktail culture. Most encouraging of all is the number of new restaurants opening. Here, the best of the vintage.
Every year, Toronto Life’s April edition names the current food and restaurant trends we love, hate and those with which we have a love-hate relationship. Here, in no particular order, are out seven favourites for 2010
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Highway hell for locavores (Image: Grant Hutchins)
Canada’s highways can be hell for road-tripping locavores—all those thousands of kilometres of pavement, with nary a locally grown, non-processed food in sight. Luckily, the Globe has served up a few solutions. Three useful tips, after the jump.
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The tea leaves of our impending food future have settled—and they look ominous. Condé Nast Traveler predicts that over the next few years, the dining world will undergo some dire changes. Three choice items among the soothsaying:
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Human breast milk cheese encrusted in maple syrup–glazed pumpkin seeds (Image: danielangerer.com)
A popular New York chef has managed to push the boundaries of the culinary world and the locavore movement at the same time. Daniel Angerer is now making cheese made from his wife’s breast milk at his NYC restaurant Klee Brasserie. The idea came eight weeks ago, when his wife began producing excess milk after giving birth. Since he went public with this invention, Angerer has discovered two things: human breast milk produces a surprisingly palatable cheese—like cow’s milk, only sweeter—and that media outlets can feed on this kind of story for weeks. Since Angerer posted his cheese story on his blog last month, it has gained attention from NBC, the Toronto Star and even the Big Money.
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The wholesomely stocked shelves at Whole Foods (Photo by Hoodrat)
Developing a hate-on for corporations and big-box retailers is a pastime of many, but it may be time for a paradigm shift. The Atlantic’s Corby Kummer was recently taken aback by the quantity of fresh, locally sourced produce available at—cue cringes—a Walmart super-centre, which stocked many of the products sold at Whole Foods.
Kummer was so intrigued by Walmart’s selection (free-range organic eggs, all-natural, hormone-free milk and organic meat) that he decided a blind taste test was in order: Walmart vs. Whole Foods. In purchasing ingredients for the showdown, which was refereed by a panel of critics, bloggers and food lovers, Kummer spent significantly less at Walmart than he did at Whole Foods for nearly identical ingredients.
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Peanut brittle from Sudbury's Sinfully Deelicious (Photo via sinfullydeelicious.com)
It’s no secret that corporate sponsorship is one of the most competitive sports at the Games, but a few independent brewers, bakers and farmers made the cut at the Ontario House in the Olympics Pavilion. Alongside the Coke, Minute Maid and Timothy’s coffee, there’s enough Ontario nosh to satisfy any locavore.
Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company: Lug Tread Ale Read the rest of this entry »
Based in eastern Ontario, Beau’s is more familiar to residents of Ottawa and Kingston—that is, until the family brewery made it into Ontario House. Its Lug Tread Ale, a lager-ale mix, is being served on tap and in a beer–and–Balderson cheddar soup.
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